1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device and method for capturing liquid, and, more particularly, to a device and method for capturing solvent included in developer.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wet developing process is one developing process to be employed in an electro-photography recording apparatus, such as a copy machine, laser printer, etc. The developer for use in this developing process is a mixture of toner and solvent, and is stored or handled with ease as compared to a case where only the toner is used as the developer.
After developing photographic any image, the solvent (liquid) included in the developer needs to be captured.
A capture device for capturing the solvent included in the developer is disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication Nos. H8-166722, H11-174769, H11-184344 and in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2930582.
In the capture device disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. H8-166722, an electrostatic latent image is formed on an organic photo-conductor drum, and the electrostatic latent image is developed by a wet developing device. Further, in the capture device, the toner image is transferred onto a printing paper so as to make a color copy of the toner image.
However, th is capture device does not disclose the structure for capturing the developer from the organic photo-conductor drum. Hence, the solvent used for developing images remains on the organic photo-conductor drum, and is transferred onto the printing paper, causing deterioration of the image quality.
Unexamined Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication Nos. H11-174769, H11-184344 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 2930582 disclose a capture device for capturing the solvent included in the developer and remaining on an organic photo-conductor belt.
In the capture device disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication Nos. H11-174769, H11-184344, the solvent remaining on the organic photo-conductor belt is absorbed by a drying roller and vaporized by a heating roller. However, in this structure, it is difficult to control the temperature of the drying roller. For example, if the temperature of the drying roller is set high, the toner is likely to melt so as to be adhered onto the drying roller. On the contrary, if the temperature of the drying roller is set low, the drying roller does not get dried itself, it can not absorb the solvent. Furthermore, the drying roller captures, together with the solvent, the toner which has not formed up the toner image. However, it is difficult to remove the toner absorbed by the drying roller therefrom.
A drying roller included in the capture device disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2930582 includes a hollow connected to a capture and has a plurality of holes piercing the hollow. An absorption member for absorbing the solvent is mounted on the outer surface of the drying roller. The solvent absorbed by the absorption member reaches the hollow through the plurality of holes, and is captured by a capture. The solvent remaining in the absorption member is heated up by a heating roller so as to be vaporized.
However, if the plurality of holes are simply formed, the solvent absorbed by the absorption member does not flow into the hollow. Even in this structure, it is difficult to control the temperature of the drying roller. For example, if the temperature of the drying roller is set high, the toner is likely to melt and adhered onto the drying roller. On the contrary, if the temperature of the drying roller is set low, the drying roller does not get dried, so that it can not absorb the solvent. Further, the drying roller captures, together with the solvent, the toner which has not formed up the toner image. However, it is difficult to remove the toner absorbed by the drying roller therefrom.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above. It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a device and method for capturing liquid, particularly for absorbing the solvent with ease while avoiding absorbing any solid organism, when to absorb the solvent from ink.
Another object thereof is to provide a device and method for capturing liquid, which can remove any solid organism captured when absorbing the solvent from ink, and vaporize the absorbed solvent with ease.
Still another object thereof is to provide a device and method for capturing liquid, which can easily absorb solvent from ink and vaporize the absorbed solvent with ease.
In order to achieve the above objects, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid capture device, which captures developer, having used for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on a rotatable organic photo-conductor belt, and being formed of solvent and the toner, the device comprising:
a drying belt over outer circumference of which an absorption layer absorbing the solvent is arranged, and a surface of which is adjacent to a surface of the organic photo-conductor belt in a predetermined adjacent area, and also which rotates in an opposite direction of a rotational direction of the organic photo-conductor belt so as to absorb the solvent and a part of the toner;
a nip roller of the drying belt which rotates and supports an adjacent section, which is adjacent to the organic photo-conductor belt, from an inside of the drying belt;
a regeneration roller which rotates and supports the drying belt, includes a first heat source, and dries the absorption layer by heat generated by the first heat source; and
a cleaning roller which includes a second heat source, causes the toner absorbed by the absorption layer with heat generated by the second heat source so as to remove the toner therefrom, and dries the absorption layer.
In order to achieve the above objects, according to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for capturing developer from a rotatable organic photo-conductor belt on which an electrostatic latent image developed using the developer formed of solvent and the toner is formed, the method comprising:
supporting a drying belt, over outer circumference of which an absorption layer absorbing liquid is arranged, with a nip roller and a regeneration roller, and arranging a section, which is supported by the nip roller, adjacent to the organic photo-conductor belt;
rotating the drying belt in a direction opposite to a rotational direction of the organic photo-conductor belt, thereby the developer on the organic photo-conductor belt is absorbed by the absorption layer;
setting a cleaning roller, which is heated up, to contact the absorption layer having absorbed the developer, thereby to remove the toner included in the absorption layer and to vaporize the solve included in the absorption layer; and
setting the regeneration roller, which is heated up, to contact the absorption layer from which the toner is removed by the cleaning roller, thereby to vaporize the solvent included in the absorption layer.